BROCKTON – Three weeks ago Carlos Lopes was having dinner with friends discussing the recent violence in the city when they decided they wanted to do something about it.

Lopes said his friends were concerned about the murders and shootings in recent weeks and the impact on the city’s large Cape Verdean community and others in Brockton.

“It’s really getting bad and out of hand,” said Lopes, who served on the board of directors for the Cape Verdean Association of Brockton.

They decided to form a group made up of religious leaders, social workers, politicians, psychologists, activists and members of the community. On Saturday, they will be hosting an open forum to discuss what can be done in the wake of the surge in violence.

The forum will be held at the Cape Verdean Adult Day Care Center at 764 North Main Street in Brockton from 4-6 p.m.

Brockton has seen four murders so far this year. Three of the victims are of Cape Verdean descent, Lopes said, and two of the alleged killers are also Cape Verdean.

Brockton boasts one of the world’s largest populations of Cape Verdeans outside of the nation made up of a small group of islands off the west coast of Africa.

On Jan. 11, 49-year-old Jacinto Correia was stabbed several times in the legs inside a Prospect Street apartment where he later died. On April 11, Jacinto Vieira, 19, was stabbed several times before dying on a doorstep on Green Street. That same day Elson Miranda, 22, was shot to death inside The Lit bar on Ames Street.

“When someone loses a son they don’t have any place to go. They don’t have any help,” Lopes said. “We need to find a way to get people to feel comfortable so if they have a problem they can talk to someone.”

The event is open to the public and anyone who would like to attend is welcome.

“It would be great if we could get some of the other communities involved, white people, Haitian people, black people, because we are all Brockton people,” Lopes said.

Carla DaRosa, director of constituent services for the Mayor’s office, councilor-at-large Jass Stewart and members of the Brockton Police Department are expected to attend the forum.